Ailing Chávez Returns to Caracas

With His Country in Turmoil, Venezuelan Leader Makes Surprise Return Home From Cuba

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has returned to Caracas after more than two months of cancer treatment in Cuba. The 58-year old, who has never revealed what cancer he has, will continue his treatment at a military hospital in the Venezuelan capital.

By

Ezequiel Minaya and

Kejal Vyas

Updated Feb. 18, 2013 8:18 p.m. ET

CARACAS—Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez made a surprise return home Monday, after more than two months of seclusion in Cuba for cancer treatment.

But his arrival back in Caracas is unlikely to quell speculation that his delicate health could force him from office after 14 years in charge of the oil-rich South American nation.

ENLARGE

Supporters in Caracas celebrate the homecoming Monday of President Hugo Chávez, who will continue his cancer treatment at a military hospital.
Reuters

Mr. Chávez was taken to the Dr. Carlos Arvelo Military Hospital in Caracas, where he will continue his anticancer regimen, according to a Twitter message from Venezuelan Science and Technology Minister Jorge Arreaza, who is also the president's son-in-law.

The 58-year-old president, who until Friday hadn't been seen while in Cuba, announced his return with a series of messages on Twitter. "We have arrived once again to the Venezuelan fatherland. Thank you my God! Thank you my beloved people! Here we will continue the treatment," he wrote in his first posts on the social media site since Nov. 1.

Hours after his return, supporters filled plazas across the country. In downtown Caracas, revelers clad in the color red of Mr. Chávez's Socialist party congregated in the Plaza Bolívar, cheering as fireworks exploded overhead and breaking out in chants praising Mr. Chávez.

"All of Venezuela, all of Latin America, is happy he is home," said Jose Macuare, a 46-year-old community organizer for the president's party.

Video: Chavez and His Legacy

In this WSJ documentary, reporter David Luhnow looks at Venezuela's president, Hugo Chávez. Now undergoing treatment for cancer, Chavez has named a possible successor, raising the question of whether his "21st century socialism" can outlive its founder. Photo: AP

The former army tank commander's homecoming brings him closer to a possible return to work. Whether he recovers enough to eventually resume duties is an open question. Medical experts say repeated surgery during his battle with cancer and his long convalescence suggest he is terminally ill.

Mr. Chávez disclosed his illness in June 2011 but hasn't identified the specific cancer he has faced through two recurrences and four operations. He suffered complications linked to excessive bleeding during his latest procedure and grappled with a respiratory infection while recovering, the government has said.

The government hasn't released photos or videos of the leader's predawn arrival Monday. In the past, Mr. Chávez returned from medical treatment in Cuba to a hero's welcome shown live on state television.

"So Chávez snuck back into the country at 2:30 in the morning with no previous announcement, no cameras around and only a 3 a.m. tweet to announce the whole thing so…nothing at all strange about that, right!?" wrote Venezuelan-born blogger Francisco Toro, who is aligned with the country's opposition. Moisés Naím, a former Venezuelan cabinet minister and an analyst at the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said "Chávez has come home to die."

Mr. Chávez has been in power since 1999 and was re-elected in October for a new six-year term. But he failed to turn up for his scheduled inauguration in January, as he recovered in Havana from Dec. 11 surgery.

Officials on Monday declined to speculate on when Mr. Chávez might be officially sworn in.

Analysts said his return was likely orchestrated to quell growing calls by Venezuela's opposition for more information about his condition and prognosis—both closely guarded secrets. Public knowledge of a terminal disease would likely prompt opposition calls for Mr. Chávez to be declared incapacitated, a move that would trigger elections under Venezuelan law.

"It was increasingly untenable that he claim the presidency and not even be in the country, so they had to find a way to get him back to Venezuela," said Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Council of the Americas and the Americas Society, a hemispheric group in New York. "But that's not to say he's better and will soon retake his position or in fact will ever resume his duties."

Mr. Naím said he believed the decision to return was taken by top-level Cuban advisers who realized it was politically risky for the sick president to remain abroad while Venezuela suffered the consequences of a recent currency devaluation.

This month, the government devalued its currency, the bolívar, to 6.3 per dollar from 4.3, to help bridge a growing shortfall in government finances by boosting the amount of local currency the country earns from oil exports.

But the devaluation has led to price increases, as Venezuela depends heavily on imports, economists say. The move also hasn't alleviated shortages in a country with strict currency controls and a widespread shortage of dollars needed to import goods. The black market rate for the bolivar has fallen to around 22 per dollar from 18 before the devaluation, according to websites that track the currency.

Opposition leader Henrique Capriles, who has been critical of the secrecy over the president's health, said he hoped Mr. Chávez's "return generates some sanity in his government."

Vice President Nicolás Maduro and other allies of the leader insist Mr. Chávez is in charge. During his hospitalization in Cuba, they used the president's signature on letters and legal documents as proof he was attending to his duties. Opposition leaders openly wondered if the signature—which appeared identical each time—had been faked.

On Friday, Venezuelan authorities released the first photos of Mr. Chávez since December, showing the smiling president lying down and flanked by two of his daughters.

Government officials said the leader was facing some difficulty speaking due to a tracheal tube that had been inserted to help him breathe, though the apparatus was not visible in the published pictures.

"The only thing certain is that he has not overcome cancer and continues to suffer from a respiratory deficiency," said Diego Moya-Ocampos, a Latin America analyst with political risk consultancy IHS Global Insight.

A doctor who has closely followed Mr. Chavez' fortunes since he fell ill said the photographs appeared to have been carefully staged to hide such things as a tracheotomy, which had long been rumored, and was admitted by the government last week. He said adverse results from the tracheotomy may have damaged or diminished Mr. Chavez's voice.

The doctor, who requested anonymity, says the surgery weakened Mr. Chavez enormously and doubts it will allow him to return to his duties. He said that although all possibilities remain open, he predicted the president would die from his illness, probably sometime this year.

—José de Córdoba and David Luhnow contributed to this article.

Corrections & Amplifications Mr. Chávez was transported to Hospital Militar Dr. Carlos Arvelo in Caracas, where he will resume his regimen, according to a Twitter post from Venezuela Science and Technology Minister Jorge Arreaza, who is also the president's son-in-law. A previous version of this article incorrectly identified the hospital.

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